Shloka 15

Adhyaya 1 — Jaimini’s Questions on the Mahabharata and the Origin of the Wise Birds

Sanskrit

भेषजं ब्रह्महत्याया बलदेवो महाबलः ।

तीर्थयात्राप्रसङ्गेन कस्माच्चक्रे हलायुधः ॥

Transliteration

bheṣajaṃ brahmahatyāyā baladevo mahābalaḥ |

tīrthayātrāprasaṅgena kasmāc cakre halāyudhaḥ ||

Translation

Warum unternahm der mächtige Balarāma, der Pflugträger, eine Pilgerfahrt zu den heiligen Furten (tīrtha) als Heilmittel gegen die Sünde des Brahmanenmordes (brahmahatyā)?

Word by Word

• bheṣajam: remedy / expiation
• bheṣajam: Karma/Pratipādya (कर्म/प्रतिपाद्य) (predicate complement)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bheṣaja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा) or Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular; predicate noun "remedy"

• brahma-hatyāyāḥ: of brahma-hatyā (killing a brāhmaṇa)
• brahma-hatyāyāḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahman (प्रातिपदिक) + hatyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular; "of brahmin-slaying"

• baladevaḥ: Baladeva (Balarāma)
• baladevaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: baladeva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular

• mahā-balaḥ: mighty / of great strength
• mahā-balaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + bala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; adjective qualifying baladevaḥ

• tīrtha-yātrā-prasaṅgena: by the occasion of a pilgrimage
• tīrtha-yātrā-prasaṅgena: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक) + yātrā (प्रातिपदिक) + prasaṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular; "by/through the occasion of pilgrimage"

• kasmāt: from what (cause)?
• kasmāt: Hetu/Apādāna (हेतु/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Ablative (5th/पञ्चमी), Singular; interrogative used adverbially

• cakre: did / performed / undertook
• cakre: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ (धातु); cakre (तिङन्त)
• Form: Perfect (लिट्/liṭ), 3rd Person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular; Parasmaipada/Ātmanepada form: Ātmanepada (cakre)

• halāyudhaḥ: Halāyudha (plough-weaponed one)
• halāyudhaḥ: Karta (कर्ता) (appositional to baladevaḥ)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hala (प्रातिपदिक) + āyudha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; bahuvrīhi epithet "he whose weapon is a plough"

Speakers

• Interlocutor’s question within the Purāṇic frame (narrative inquiry leading to explanation); exact named speaker not specified in the provided excerpt

Verse Rasa

{ "primaryRasa": "shanta", "secondaryRasa": "karuna", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

Primary Deities

• Balarāma

Key Themes

• Dharma
• Prāyaścitta (expiation)
• Tīrtha-yātrā (pilgrimage)
• Ethics of grave sins (mahāpātaka)

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Even the most powerful are bound by dharma: grave wrongdoing (here framed as brahmahatyā) calls for acknowledged atonement. The verse introduces pilgrimage as a socially recognized remedial path, emphasizing moral accountability over mere power.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

Primarily within Vaṃśānucarita/Itihāsa-style narrative use: a well-known figure’s conduct is invoked to teach dharma and prāyaścitta. It is not directly sarga/pratisarga/manvantara/vaṃśa data in this single verse, but it functions as dharmic instruction embedded in narrative genealogy/tradition.

What is the esoteric significance?

‘Bheṣaja’ (medicine) implies that sin is treated as a moral-spiritual affliction requiring intentional purification. ‘Tīrtha’ (ford/crossing) symbolically points to crossing over impurity and karmic burden; Halāyudha (plough-bearer) hints at the inner ‘turning of the soil’—a reworking of one’s karmic field through disciplined expiation.